A Passionate Woman – Highbury Theatre, Sutton Coldfield, by Kay Mellor

*****

This 1993 play  is characterised  by dry northern wit, knowing ridiculousness and profound  sadness. A story of love, loss and relationships.

It helps to know a little about Kay Mellor, the playwright’s background.

Mellor was born in Leeds on 1951, to a Catholic father,  and  Jewish mother,  whose  marriage was unhappy, and beset by  domestic violence.

She wrote for TV soaps Coronation St, Brookside, and created  the hit television series Band of Gold. Her daughter  Gaynor  Faye found  TV fame on Coronation St and Emmerdale.

The tale, a four hander,  features a working-class woman caught in an unfulfilling marriage, yearning for romance, themes more popularly realised in Shirley Valentine

Betty, played with no-nonsense charm by Pippa Olliver , is a dutiful wife and mother who, dressed in a peach two-piece on the day of her son’s wedding,  takes a life-changing detour into her loft. As she rummages among its dusty old boxes and suitcases, it becomes a portal, of a kind, back to a more vital past self. Olliver deftly switches between wry comedy and suicidal despair in a powerful, assured, pivotal performance.

Inspired by a story told to Mellor by her mother, it is awash with  regret, specifically  Betty’s decision to end a secret affair with her now dead Polish lover, Craze (Dan Burnham). In the retelling of that love affair, Olliver delightfully reveals herself as a passionate woman, not the drudge of today.

Director  Phil Astle adroitly  maintains  a pace and predictable punchiness  of a sitcom. The first act is part monologue, part playful badinage. Betty’s bamboozled son Mark  (Gareth May),  is trying to talk her down from the loft while her husband (Richard Irons), looks for her downstairs. The second act sees them up on the roof.

The cast have to contend with a daring script that straddles genres,  from gentle comedy to kitchen sink drama while the family pick over the fault lines in their relationships . It is  also part  ghost story, when Craze emerges in the loft and  cajoles Betty into a grand escape from her life. In the retelling of that love affair, Olliver explores herself as that  passionate woman, sentimentally, and explosively.

Her poor bewildered, and, as it turns out, lonely husband Donald,  is performed exquisitely and sensitively  by Richard Irons , being left flummoxed by his wife’s extraordinarily out-of-character behaviour.

Malcolm Robertshaw’s set is both real and surreal – a fitting combination for a salt-of-the-earth comedy that has the  dead roaming among the still living. It alternates between the dusty loft, full of unspoken secrets and sentimental memories, and the perilous roof top. The revolving set is a treat, with the roof a platform for jeopardy and intrigue. Credit to Marion Chittenden for her sensitive  lighting  to close the first half and her   boldness in illuminating Betty whilst up on the roof in the second act.

The father-son showdown  is especially powerful for its awkward humour and pathos.

The denouement  on the roof as a hot air balloon appears is wonderfully absurd. Was it all  a dream?

Astle brings the best out of this play, dialogue rich, which leaves you laughing out loud one moment, before  then morphing  into poignant moments of loss and regret, contemplating roads left untravelled.

The running time  is a taut hour and  three quarters , not a minute is wasted. Runs until 26th September.

Gary Longden

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Holy, Holy- o2 Ritz, Manchester

This is the fourth time I had seen them on tour,  billed as the Final Tour.  I had mixed emotions, delight at hearing  Bowie songs played live, sadness that this is to be the last time, and a fin de siècle sense about proceedings.

Tony Visconti, Bowie’s long time producer and friend is 82, Woody Woodmansey is 76, Glenn Gregory himself is 68. This was their fifth date in five days- a punishing schedule for pensioners, and Gregory has been playing summer Heaven 17  festival dates before embarking  on a  Heaven 17 tour in the autumn. As fans there comes a point when we should allow our heroes to put their feet up

It was a fabulous night in front of a large Saturday night crowd, the band are superb. Visconti and Woodmansey enjoyed star billing, but that was only part of the story. Visconti’s bass was mellifluous  throughout, particularly on Lady grinning Soul and dexterous on the notoriously tricky Ashes to Ashes. James Stevenson channelled his inner Ronson, drawing  wild applause , to the full for Width of a Circle and Moonage Daydream. I remember seeing him play with the rudimentary Chelsea before graduating to the Alarm and the Cult.  He was at ease in these more august surroundings.

Paul Cuddeford shared guitar duties with Stevenson with the Alarm, but just a few weeks ago was playing to 80,000 at Croke Park as part of the Boomtown Rats with whom I have seen him play before. So skilled, and was killer on Rebel Rebel and lady Grinning Soul

Jessica Lee Morgan is as talented as her mum, Mary Hopkin and dad Tony Visconti. She sang. She played acoustic guitar and blew a mean sax  part.

Unheralded keyboard player is Janette Mason who is an internationally famous jazz pianist, her work on Life on Mars and Lady Grinning Soul was exquisite

I first came across Glenn  Gregory in the original Human League at the Rainbow London supporting Siouxsie  and the banshees. He was magnificent and still is. Even better he brough Rachel Marshall with him to assist on vocals, a woman who clearly did not listen to her headmistress’ s guidance on skirt length at school, but had harmonies to die for and looked delighted to not have to sing Temptation.

Gregory is the man who makes Holy Holy happen ( witness the Cunio debacle with DAM last year). A great singer, British with stage presene and a genuine affection for Bowie and his music. His false start on Panic in Detroit, and transposed lyrics on Space Oddity, just made us love him more.

I thought the setlist was excellent, Lady Grinning Soul and Panic in Detroit were exceptional, for me Suffragette City, Jean Genie and  Watch that Man were missed.

Stevenson paid a touching tribute to Ronson before Eight line Poem, Visconti said a few words of appreciation before the encore, Woody sucked the energy out of the crowd immediatley after with an extended rambling speech which was a shame, drummers should concentrate on drumming which he did very well.

A fantastic show, and a fitting farewell

Setlist

Warszawa (extract)

Five Years

The Width of a Circle

Lady Grinning Soul

Ziggy Stardust

Time

Quicksand

Changes

Ashes to Ashes

Eight Line Poem

Panic in Detroit

Rock ‘n’ Roll With Me

Drive-In Saturday

Space Oddity

The Man Who Sold the World

Starman

Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide

Life on Mars?

Moonage Daydream

Encore….

Where Are We Now?

Rebel Rebel

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The Full Monty- Sutton Arts, Sutton Coldfield

The Full Monty- Sutton Arts

*****

This is the stage play, not the musical. Although the musical has become contemporaneously  synonymous with  a hen night/ girl’s night out, its origins are darker,  more serious and profound.

Sutton Arts, with Emily Armstrong at the Directorial helm, has been brave and bold in taking this on, eschewing  the entertainment as being a male strip show and instead driving it as a human story of six mismatched, out-of-work Sheffield steelworkers trying to earn some cash as they struggle,  with feelings of   failure, irrelevance, debt and despair. Thatcher’s Britain in a time capsule, complete with vintage newsreel.

But this isn’t mournful, doleful stuff. Armstrong embraces the original characterisation and delivers  a fast-paced show, with  tension – will they or won’t they make it? – and a series of well-crafted climaxes.

The writing  is excellent. Written by Simon  Beuafot in 1997 who also wrote the screen play for Slumdog Mllionaire ,his writing embraces his Northern Keighley roots, with the added polish of an Oxford education.

 Every time a character’s plight tugs at your heart strings – when Lomper (Ethan  Gibson) tries to hang himself, Dave (Luke Saldana) reveals he is impotent, or Guy (Paul Atkins) explains his boyfriend is dead,   – the action never lingers, and swiftly moves on to provide a lift. Jerome  Pinnock Glasgow is compelling  as Horse and does not have a small part. Rob Phillips  is outstanding as Gerald, channelling his inner Craig Revel Horwood as he coaches the strippers’ dance moves. Laconic, wry, browbeaten and down beaten, he is the reluctant hero of the strippers. A shrewd piece of casting.

The female ensemble is particularly strong with the experienced  Michelle Riley the pick of the bunch as  wronged wife and mother Mandy. Young Freddie Smith plays her and  Gaz’s son with charm and energy ,delivering his pivotal speech towards the end with conviction and aplomb, lambasting his errant father Gaz  who is reflectively  portrayed by Oliver Farrelly. Playing opposite a child is never easy.

Mark Natrass’s set is suitably industrial and flexible morphing into several different settings with ease. The traditional soundtrack is used by David Ashton  with a little ambient electronica however the extraordinarily rich  Sheffield   soundscape of the era is largely eschewed.

Naturally, the path to stripper stardom does not run smoothly. Armstrong moulds this as a tale of friendship and it works splendidly. Yes the finale is  feel -good  schmaltz- but that’s showbiz! A packed Friday night crowd enthusiastically roared the lads  on creating an intoxicating atmosphere. They  let it all hang out until Sept 19th.

Gary Longden

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Till the Stars Come Down – Nottingham Playhouse

*****

A wonderful Abigail’s party style dive into the lives of ordinary people- this time at a Mansfield wedding. Caroline Steinbeis directs with style, verve and pace.

The ceremony plays out in real time at Beth Steel’s Till The Stars Come Down, a Regional premier after running in the West End following an opening at the National Theatre . The two acts of 75 minutes and fifty minutes are bookended by two very different but compelling scenes.

The wedding itself is followed by a live screen roving camera and characters enter and exit via the auditorium making the paying audience part of the action.

The opening scene introduces us to most of the female characters as they glam themselves up for the big day. It is hilarious and laugh out loud funny with one liners ricocheting around the stage. A schoolgirl dreams of being an astronaut, her aunty subsequently struggles to differentiate between the sun and moon as worlds collide, the title echoing Auden who, in “Deaths’ Echo”, exhorts us to “dance till the stars come down from the rafters. ” However I doubt that Auden is on the reading lists of many in Mansfield.

AK Golding is our bride Sylvia getting ready for her big day. Obviously we have a dress drama with her two sisters Hazel and Maggie in close support and conflict. But star of the show is Aunty Carol ( Sadie Shimmin) a wonderful amalgamation of Mrs Slocombe (” Are you being served?”)and Vera Duckworth ( “Coronation St”.) Her big moment comes during an audience involving karaoke rendition of “Its Raining Men”

Sylvia’s husband Marek ( Ivan Ivashkin) to be is Polish providing the catalyst for exploring racism and xenophobia..Asked if there will be any Polish traditions in the wedding, Aunty Carol retorts : ‘Well, we’re not in Poland,’ then adds: ‘Not that you’d know.’ Ivshkin has his own karaoke moment when he sings a mash up of ” I Can’t take my eyes off of you”, another audience participation rabble rouser.

This is a world of warehouse jobs and delivery drivers replacing the pitmen of the past whose pits are given a roll call of honour during the wedding speeches as Uncle Pete offers a poignant accompaniment by singing a wine glass, and the pain of the miners strike still lingers. The women are superbly written and are the focus of attention, Leah Brotherhead’s impossibly short dress allows for nothing else. The drama revolves around the three sisters, the men are crushed, and only Marek offers any resilience and drive to better his lot.

The final scene of the second act is compelling theatre at its best with Emma Pallant as Hazel blistering. It is a fabulous ensemble cast, neither the setting nor jokes feel dated, instead you sense the seeds of how the Far Right is gathering strength in this country. An irresistible contemporary drama of the region, written by a playwright from the region.

Do you want to know what a sex pond is? Come on down until the 25th Sept to find out!

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De Gaulle – Resistance, Part One , Film review

Terrific non Hollywood biopic, compelling, humorous and informative. there are some artistic inaccuracies ( Admiral Darlan’s assassination) but they are more than compensated for by the overall narrative arc, part one of a two part epic.

Part one covers  the period 1940 to 1942, part grand historical saga, part suspenseful geopolitical thriller, and part biographical portrait by French director Antonin Baudry It combines key battles such as Dakar and Bir Hakeim, with personal moments , particularly his dynamic with Churchill

De Gaulle operates on three levels: opposing the German occupation of France amidst WWII battles like Bir Hakeim and student protests for freedom in Paris; challenging the Vichy government by attempting to take control of French colonies in Africa; and dealing with his allies while aware that France might come under Anglo-American influence. He must navigate complex relationships with Churchill in England and Roosevelt in the US. Actor Simon Abkarian’s portrayal gives De Gaulle a tragicomic, Don Quixote-like aura, with a stoic presence that highlights his stubbornness. De Gaulle emerges as a solitary, unconventional hero.

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Dave Formula/ Noko play Magazine- Hairy Dog Derby, 7/8/26

This was a warm up gig for the band’s appearance at the Rebellion festival in Blackpool the following day. This was my second gig of the mini tour, the fifth overall.

They have a core of gems which carry the set: Feed The Enemy/ Model Worker/ Permafrost/ Back to Nature/ Parade/ Definitive Gaze/ Shot by Both Sides/ Motorcade/ the Light Pours Out of Me. And so it was again this night

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Highbury Theatre, Boldmere, Sutton Colfield 2026/27 programe preview

A Passionate Woman,by Kay Mellor15th– 26th Sept 2026

Summary: a period  kitchen sink drama. Bogged down by a 30-year listless marriage, on the morning of her son’s wedding she takes refuge in the attic of her home where she relives her long-lost youth and a passionate love affair that she’d almost forgotten. Now surrounded by ghosts from her past, Betty finds herself torn between a man she doesn’t love, a son about to fly the nest and the memories of a man she shared a passionate affair with. A story of family, love and Leeds, that challenges the notion of what it means to be the family matriarch.Kay Mellor’s acclaimed drama premiered at the  Leeds Playhouse in 1993. Running time around 90 minutes in two acts plus interval  

Murder on the Nile– Agatha Christie 20th– 31oct 2026

Summary: based upon Christie’s book  Death on the Nile, a murder mystery. Kay Ridgeway has led a charmed life. Blessed with beauty, enormous wealth, and a new husband, she embarks on a honeymoon voyage down the Nile. Fatal circumstances await when the idyllic surroundings are shattered by a shocking and brutal murder. Under scrutiny is a multitude of memorable passengers, all with a reason to kill. The tension and claustrophobia builds, as a shocking and audacious conspiracy is laid bare. Running time around 2hr 10 minutes plus interval.

Vicar of Dibley, Second Coming– Curtis. Paul Mayhew- archer   1- 12th dec

The play “A Vicar of Dibley Christmas: The Second Coming” is a festive adaptation of the beloved sitcom “The Vicar of Dibley.” It continues the story of Geraldine and her fellow parishioners as they navigate the challenges of running a village radio station and preparing for the Christmas nativity play. The play is set in the picturesque village of Dibley and features a mix of humor, drama, and the warmth of community spirit.

Quartet by Richard Harwood 26th jan -6th feb2027

Summary, a gentle four handed drama,warm and poignant- Ronald Harwood’s 1999 play ‘Quartet’

Set in a retirement home for opera singers and musicians – possibly based on a combination of Casa Verdi in Milan and Denville Hall on the outskirts of North London (though that is more specifically for actors) – the characters tell their own tales as they look at their past as performers, their present retirement and the future. The narrative is almost four stories told at the same time with the occasional cross-over and clash, before coming together at the end.

Wilfred, Reginald and Cecily are jogging along quite merrily when everything changes with the arrival of the formidable Jean. The newcomer doesn’t want to be in a home, doesn’t want to relive her past, and doesn’t want to partake in the annual celebration of Giuseppe Verdi; but the others have different ideas. It is the old relationships and lives they have lead which creates the, ultimately, warm-hearted and poignant plot of the play.

A gentle and hugely entertaining play which is uplifting positive .

Good by CP Taylor 2nd -13th March

“Good,” written by Scottish playwright Cecil Philip Taylor (C.P. Taylor) and first published in 1982, is widely regarded as a definitive English-language theatrical work on the Holocaust

Commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1981, it has been performed worldwide and remains influential for its exploration of morality, complicity, and the seduction of ordinary people into atrocities

Summary: a historical drama. Good is a play about the causes rather than the consequences of Nazism, about morality and seduction. It explores how a “good” man gets caught up in the intricate web of personal and social reasons why the average person might be seduced in to what we see as abhorrent. The author thus rejects the view that the Nazi atrocities are explained as a result of the simple conspiracy of criminals and psychopaths. Furthermore, the lessons of Nazism and the play are not just about the revulsion resulting from six million dead but are also a warning about popular movements that lead to holocausts. Not judgmental of its protagonist, Good invites us to question just what a “good” man is and does and where the bounds of responsibility lie

Sleuth– Antony Shaffer 20th April- 1st may

Summary: a murder mystery The play is set in the Wiltshire manor house of Andrew Wyke, an immensely successful mystery writer. Wyke’s home reflects his obsession with the inventions and deceptions of fiction and his fascination with games and game-playing. He lures his wife’s lover Milo Tindle to the house and persuades him to stage a robbery of her jewellery. This proposal sets off a chain of events that leaves the audience trying to decipher where Wyke’s imagination ends and reality begins.

Shaffer said the play was partially inspired by one of his friends, composer Stephen Sondheim, whose intense interest in game-playing is mirrored by the character of Wyke, and by mystery writer John Dickson Carr, whose stories featured complex plots and seemingly “impossible” crimes.

Brassed off – Paul Allen 8th– 19th June

Summary: The heartening story of a community standing on the brink – where music becomes a defiant act of hope. 

In the heart of Yorkshire, the mining community of Grimley is under threat. The colliery faces closure, jobs are at stake, and with them the identity of a town and its people. At its heart is Danny, leading a band of brass playing miners who must find a way to keep their community spirit alive.  

Enter Gloria, flugelhorn in hand, carrying both the past and the possibility of something new. As tensions rise, relationships change, and pressure mounts, the band battles to reach the National Championships at London’s Royal Albert Hall.   

A powerful celebration of courage, camaraderie, and the big brass spirit that refuses to be silenced. Running time around 2hours thirty plus interval

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The Odyssey – film Review

Yes it is long, very long. But it is an epic so what do you expect? Anne Hathaway, Matt Damon and Tom Holland star in Christopher Nolan’s Homeric adaptation .

Matt Damon as Odysseus, looking up with a weathered face and beard.
Matt Damon as Odysseus in The Odyssey

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At a time when cinema has apeared artificial and soul less a starry cast and $250 million arrives for this once in a generation remake.Anne Hathaway (as Penelope), Matt Damon (as Odysseus) and Tom Holland (as Telemachus), give their all in a production that feels like a legacy project for all concerned

Anne Hathaway as Penelope and Mia Goth as Melantho in THE ODYSSEY.
Anne Hathaway as Penelope

The sea storms, the half-human half-swine creatures , Cyclops and Troy ,the Laestrygonians, the wonderful Circe all swgger in this non linear narrative.The imagery from the film’s cinematographer, Hoyte van Hoytema, is beautiful, and , stirringly real. The dragging of the wooden horse, by a cast of thousands, through the gates of Troy is like vintage Werner Herzog, while the eventual sack of the city is disturbingly savage, far grittier than Spartacus, Gladiator or Clash of the Titans. But while violence is on, sex is out

yes the story varies from the modern translated narrative , but loses little and the original was a compendium of classic tales in the oral tradition anyway. This simply resets it for the 21st century



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Emma Clowsley – Midland Fringe Festival, Lych gate tavern, Wolverhampton, 26/7/26

Securing Emma was a coup for the Midlands Fringe, a stalwart of the Brighton and Ledbury festivals she had come to  promote her new show and book ,”Mid Life Lesbian”

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Emma Clowsley  is a Queer, neurodivergent writer,  bringing rural Herefordshire to urban Wolverhampton.

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Performing niche content to a blended  audience is always a challenge. Fortunately, her  commitment to  addressing Lesbian/Queer themes  is matched by her determination to break down societal barriers. Crucially, she understands what makes  a successful live performance . This afternoon that included gleaning material from the audience for a lesbian acrostic poem,  and inviting two audience members to compete in  finishing   a small pot yoghurt, without utensils, using only their mouths to channel their “inner lesbian”. Event organiser Steve Pottinger gamely  competed,  surprising himself on his inner lesbian credentials. She effortlessly handled a rogue mobile phone ring tone too, turning it instantly to her advantage,

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Her poetry did not disappoint.  The content was  sometimes sexually explicit, not least on the joys of scissoring. But her best poem effortlessly bridged the diverse audience- “ How to  Break a Heart”. To paraphrase Dionne Warwick – anyone who had a heart  would understand it. Structured , immediate, and with chiming rhymes it stood out amongst the rest. Whilst proud, she also was humorously self -effacing, as  unfolded in her poem “National Trust”  which gently had fun with its lesbian stereotypes.

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Raw, but not coarse, honest and unapologetic, she was her own woman, drawing you   into her world as seamlessly as a pair of M&S knickers ( a pair of which she had lost).  I liked her. I liked her poetry, and so did the audience.

Gary Longden

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The Market Deeping Model Railway Club – Playhouse Nottingham 6/7/26

****

It is not often that I am able to see a World Premiere, but that is what happened this evening for the debut of William Ivory’s new play . Ivory’s previous popular offering was the screen play for “Made in Dagenham” . Once again he is at the heart of British culture and mores.

When I was a child I had a model railway, as I entered the Theatre foyer i was struck how the audience demographic mirrored me.

The set is surprisingly sophisticated, such that it will challenge future Amdram productions, both in location and computerised backdrops. LNER sponsor the show in touching community spirit

The experienced cast is unusually strong no doubt in an attempt to lever a transfer to London at a later date.

The story is Calendar Girls v Dads Army , a period piece of a bygone age, yet it contemporaneously examines masculinity, male friendship and the quirkiness of the human condition set against a backdrop of Brexit Britain and the rise of populism and right wing prejudice.

William Ivory’s comedy is inspired by  a 2019 crime , when four youths broke into the school hall at Market Deeping Welland academy only to find a model railway exhibition. For a laugh, they trashed it. They did it because they could in intriguing juxtaposition to the modellers who do it because they can.

The dialogue is very funny. Adrian Scarborough as the Chairman, when attempting to coax youngBabutunde Aleshe to join the old codgers declares “We’re not old- some even pay for their own prescriptions!”

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Nerdy obsession … Paul Bradley.

The almost all male cast is augmented by Lucy Briers as the put-upon club secretary who provides much needed colour and shade to proceedings directed by Adam Penford.

A modern soundtrack incorporates Bowie’s Rebel Rebel and the Pistols “God save the Queen” with a playfully amusing snippet from” Theme from S’Express”.

When their layout is destroyed by vandals, Rod Stewart not only comes to the rescue with cash, but also provides some good laughs as the members take up his songs too. I suspect he was generous with his royalties requirement.

Sharp, witty, laconic, and playful this play will run and run.

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